American Fiction

 Nominated for: Picture, Lead Actor (Jeffrey Wright), Supporting Actor (Sterling K. Brown), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score

IMDB Summary: A novelist who's fed up with the establishment profiting from Black entertainment uses a pen name to wright a book that propels him into the heart of the hypocrisy and madness he claims to disdain. 

Going into this film, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Was it going to be a tongue-in-cheek satire about black stereotypes in American culture? Or were we going down the pathway of the unequal representation of minority groups in mainstream media and arts? As the film began, I tried to analyze the social statement the film was making. After about 20 minutes of trying to find something to dissect to grasp the underlying meaning, I decided to sit back and let the story come to me. And I'm quite pleased that I did. 

American Fiction is the poster child for "don't judge a book by its cover." If it's reduced to just being a social satire on racial expectations in America, there is much to be missed. Overall, I liked this film. I love a great script that infuses emotion with charisma and intellect. I laughed, I gasped, and I cringed at various points of the film that seem to effortlessly and accurately capture some of the idiocy of today's culture. While I can't personally speak to what it means to be black in America, I'm not sure that is a requirement to find this film entertaining. 

What I loved most about this film was its expression of the human experience of the characters. Not the black experience, but the human experience. As I stated in my opening, I thought the main plot point would revolve around the characters' ethnicity. It doesn't. This film's focus is on Monk (Jeffrey Wright) and the daily struggles with his family that make his life messy. The crazy wayward sibling, loss of another sibling, money issues, aging parents, career and relationship struggles. All situations that many people from various backgrounds, ages, and geographical locations can empathize with. There is so much more basic life than loud stereotypes, and this is what makes this film so enjoyable and relatable to all types of audiences. It's almost as if the storyline about outlandish, extremely stereotypical "black" novel Monk ironically writes is a complimentary garnish that adds a little comedy to the awfully mundane struggles of the American family. One of the podcast reviews I listened to mentioned this story could have been made into a six-hour miniseries, and I kind of agree with that suggestion. There are a lot of unexplored avenues of Monk - his career, his family, and the unwanted success from his crazy novel that could have been fleshed out more for an even richer story. 

I really like Jeffery Wright's performance. He's a very easy actor to watch on screen because his delivery and performance are just enjoyable. His character is the central focal point that all other characters radiate around, and yet he's complimentary to the various actors he shares the screen with. Wright interacts with just about every other actor in the film and balances well with all of them - whether he's collaborating, comforting, or challenging his onscreen partners. He's quite captivating to watch and his performance alone made this film a worthwhile watch. 

Sterling K. Brown is nominated in the supporting actor category and while I thought his performance was good (and certainly a deviation from his more well-known roles), I'm not sure it's enough to really compete with the other nominees in this category. Compared to some of the other films I've seen, I think there are a couple other supporting actors that could have trumped Brown's nomination for this particular role. He was good, but I wasn't sold on this role being his Oscar performance. The supporting cast as whole is probably a stronger asset to this film than Brown's role on its own - there are some strong female actresses that play significant family members who absolutely soar in their performances (kind of surprised none of them were nominated) and the characters representing the publishing industry seem to present the aloofness that is probably a truer representation of that world than we'd care to admit. The ensemble as a whole is this film's greatest strength and most amusing feature. 

Don't let the film poster mislead you - this film is much more concerned with the normal trials and tribulations that make life messy. There's cultural stereotyping sprinkled throughout the story, but it's there to add some spice to an otherwise traditional tale of family and professional tension. 

Available to purchase on Amazon Prime; also showing in theaters.